Mac Jones was nothing short of ecstatic on draft night.
The New England Patriots quarterback wasted no time as he power walked to the stage once his name was called. Jones was surprisingly selected No. 15 overall after the San Francisco 49ers passed on him at No. 3. While being asked if he was frustrated about getting passed on — Jones smiled and said he secretly wanted to be a Patriot the whole time.
According to his Pop Warner coach Eric Yost, this desire of joining New England goes back to Jones’ childhood.
“I ran into his dad at the hardware store,” Yost said on WEEI’s The Fitzy & Mego Show. “We talked a lot, and they were really, really wanting to go with the Patriots.”
Jones played an array of different sports and Yost was around him for seven years watching him develop as an athlete.
“I think what kinda gave me the affinity to him was he was like a park rat, those things we don’t have in kids these days where they know how to play freeze tag and get away from people, chase and hide-and-seek,” Yost said. “Mac was natural at all those moves. So at an early age you’d see him step up in the pocket for us and make some throws for us that were unbelievable for a seven, eight, nine…year old.”
Yost described Jones’ frustration with losing as a kid and made a bold comparison when it comes to the quarterback’s demeanor.
“Mac has always wanted to be a Patriot. He was always a huge Tom Brady fan and always emulated Brady,” Yost said.
Jones led Alabama to a National Championship win last year while throwing for 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns on the season. Cam Newton is the starter as of now for the Patriots, but Jones is NFL-ready and could easily find his way onto the field at some point this season.
He has enormous shoes to fill, but also has the coaching staff and support to develop and grow at a high level.
